Travis Barker and his baby's mama, former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, have gotten engaged. The Blink-182 drummer asked for Moakler's hand while the two were at Disneyland on Christmas Eve. Nuptials are expected to take place this year. ...

Grand Royal, the defunct record label once run by the Beastie Boys, has surfaced as an asset up for sale on a bankruptcy auction site (www.bid4assets.com). Highest bidders would get master recordings, licensing agreements and miscellaneous merchandising agreements. The auction has been going on since December 5, but with less than two weeks remaining, nothing has been placed. Perhaps the $10,000 minimum bid is scaring people away from obtaining those Butter 08 masters. ... Michelle Williams has set a January 27 release date for her second solo album, Do You Know. The album will include first single "The Incident," "Love Thang" featuring gospel duo Dawkins & Dawkins, and a version of Destiny's Child's "I Know." ...

Scott Weiland has switched rehab facilities once again — but this time, the court does not approve. The former Stone Temple Pilots frontman/current Velvet Revolver singer was originally placed in court-ordered lockdown rehab at Grandview in Pasadena, California, and then, with the court's permission, switched to Las Encinas, also in Pasadena, last month. But then Weiland switched yet again to a non-lockdown facility called Genesis in Hollywood. During Weiland's probation status report hearing Friday (January 9), the court asked for a complete report about the switch, and a hearing to deal with the matter has been scheduled for January 23, also the date of Weiland's arraignment for his charge of driving under the influence of drugs (from his late October arrest). ...

With "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" such a hit, it's no surprise that the Fab 5 are branching out — with Jai Rodriguez, otherwise known as the group's culture expert, leading them in the music department. Rodriguez, who performed the role of Angel in "Rent" on Broadway, has started work on his debut album. Rodriguez previously released the dance single "Love Is Good" before signing on to the Bravo/NBC show. ... Russell Simmons has sold Phat Fashions, the parent company of his Phat Farm and Baby Phat clothing lines, to Kellwood Company for a reported $140 million. Simmons launched Phat Farm in 1992 and, according to a release announcing the deal on Thursday, he's seen his company's profits go up every year. Phat Fashions will operate as a subsidiary of Kellwood, which already makes such brands as Calvin Klein, Izod and Liz Claiborne. Simmons will stay on as CEO of Phat Farm while his wife, Kimora, will continue as the principal creative force behind the ladies' Baby Phat line. ...

Staind singer Aaron Lewis has arranged a better distribution deal for Lo-Pro, the first band signed to his 413 Records. "The record's in stores now, but it's really hard to find," he said. "Hopefully that will change in January." Lewis hopes to be more hands-on in the studio as an executive producer for the next Lo-Pro release. "I think the band would actually like that," he said. ... R&B singer Teedra Moses coaxed video director Hype Williams out of hiding to film her video for "You'll Never Find (A Better Woman)." The clip, featuring Jadakiss, will be shot in the next two weeks. The track is from her debut album, Complex Simplicity, which drops in April. ...

Swedish rock band Soundtrack of Our Lives will release their fourth album on April 28. The yet-untitled record was self-produced in the band's homeland. ... Orgy have set a February 24 release date for Punk Statik Paranoia, which will be the first release on the band's new D1 Music label. Singer Jay Gordon produced the album, which includes first single "The Obvious." ...

01.08.04

As Britney Spears tries to move on from her little adventure in Las Vegas, she starts rehearsals this month for her upcoming tour, now dubbed the Onyx Hotel Tour. So what's the Onyx Hotel? As a post on the singer's Web site explains, it's a "unique, mysterious hotel powered by an onyx stone," where guests who enter shine their own light into the gemstone and make their fantasies come to life. "It's a vibrant, whimsical place where wondrous dreams are realized, and the darkest of secrets are revealed," the post reads. Fans will have to wait until March 2, when Spears kicks off the tour in San Diego, to find out how that works. ... Meanwhile, Britney will always have Vegas, and Vegas will always have her ... on wax. Spears' likeness at Madame Tussauds has been given wedding regalia of a sort — in the form of a veil, a bouquet and a garter belt, making it an instant tourist attraction, where men have been getting down on one knee to propose. ...

The flow of information in the Michael Jackson case is now up to a judge. The district attorney's office filed a request this week for a gag order to prohibit Jackson, his attorney Mark Geragos and others with connections to the case from talking to the media. Geragos plans to file a motion opposing the gag order on Monday. The media, on the other hand, is fighting for access for more information, as six news organizations — CNN, FOX News, CBS, ABC, NBC and The New York Times — have jointly filed papers requesting that certain court documents be unsealed. Meanwhile, an attorney representing the family of Jackson's accuser has filed a formal complaint about the leak of a confidential child-welfare agency memo, which was posted on the Smoking Gun Web site last month. ...

Josh Groban has joined the Super Bowl pre-game lineup, the NFL announced Thursday (January 8). Groban will perform "You Raise Me Up" accompanied by an 80-person choir prior to Beyoncé's rendition of the national anthem. The Super Bowl, which takes place February 1 in Houston, will be televised on CBS at 6 p.m. ET. ... A Perfect Circle will launch a spring tour on March 18 in Salt Lake City. Dates run through April 16 in Chicago. No support acts have been announced. Next week the band will begin its European tour. ...

On Tuesday, Station club fire survivor Joe Kinan left a rehabilitation center in Boston to continue his recovery at home. Kinan, who is the last survivor to leave the hospital, suffered major burns over much of his upper torso and arms and lost fingers and parts of his nose and ears in the blaze. ... Fans can see as well as hear Incubus when the band's sixth album, A Crow Left of the Murder, drops February 3. A limited number of copies will include video clips of the band's performances on last summer's Lollapalooza Tour and at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit concert in October. ...

Mandy Moore played a brief surprise set Wednesday night at the relatively intimate Knitting Factory, following the Hollywood premiere of her romantic comedy "Chasing Liberty." Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, in stark contrast to the gown she was wearing just a few hours before, Moore apologized to the crowd for losing her voice as she made her way through six songs from her recent covers album, Coverage. ... The owner of a Baja Fresh restaurant franchise in Austin, Texas, has decided against demolishing a wall painted with a popular mural by local artist Daniel Johnston. Why does anyone care? Both the artist and the mural, titled "The Frog," were a favorite of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who once wore a T-shirt bearing a picture of the mural (www.hihowareyou.com). After protests by numerous locals, the restaurant owner, John Oudt, decided to stop the wall's demolition. ...

Electronic producer Danger Mouse has plans to create The Grey Album, a mash-up record that combines the vocals from Jay-Z's recently released The Black Album with new beats crafted from samples of the Beatles' classic The White Album. Danger Mouse is calling this an "art project/experiment" and does not have official plans to distribute the work in stores when it is completed in February. ... "The Beatles' First U.S. Visit," a new DVD due February 3 in the U.S. and February 9 internationally, will feature never-before-seen footage of the band's 1964 two-week tour of the United States. Albert and David Maysles shot the documentary, which is being released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the tour. ...

Avenged Sevenfold, IMA Robot and the Beautiful Mistake are the latest additions to this summer's Vans Warped Tour lineup. The annual summer trek, whose marquee acts include New Found Glory, Coheed and Cambria and Bad Religion, kicks off June 25. Meanwhile, the inaugural Warped Tour Japan has added Andrew W.K. to its bill. That trek, which features the Bouncing Souls, Poison the Well and Thursday, begins Saturday in Tokyo. ... Jason Mraz, Shelby Lynne, Joe Jackson, the All-American Rejects, John Doe, Clem Snide, Morcheeba and DJ sets by Tommy Lee, Perry Farrell and Sasha are just a few of the musical attractions at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, talking place January 15-25 in Park City, Utah. The Metallica documentary "Some Kind of Monster" and "Dig," a documentary on the parallels and sometimes tumultuous relationship of the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre, are among the music-minded film highlights. ...

MC5's Wayne Kramer, Faith No More's Billy Gould, Rise Against's Tim McIlrath and Anti-Flag's Christopher Barker, who is a cofounder of the Underground Action Alliance, are hosting a rally for their Punkvoter organization Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, home of the first caucuses, January 19. "I'm coming to Iowa to carry a message of change to punk rockers, and to all young people, that government policies are out of control," the anti-Bush Kramer said in a statement. "Come to the aid of our country now. Hear the facts and work together to influence change." ... Aerosmith and Cheap Trick will hit the road together starting in March and running through June. The only announced show is April 18 in Quebec, but more dates will be announced soon. Aerosmith will be touring behind their upcoming blues record, tentatively titled Honking on Bobo, and Cheap Trick will be supporting their 2003 album, Special One. Both discs were produced by Jack Douglas, who has worked on and off with both bands since the '70s. ...

Singer/songwriter Howie Day continues to tour in support of his second album, Stop All the World Now. A 13-date trek begins February 6 in Washington, D.C., after which Day will take the stage with Barenaked Ladies for a one-off show on March 5 in Lexington, Kentucky. ... Not many besides Fantômas fans can appreciate the brilliance of an album that contains just one song. Delirium Cordia, which has been pushed back to a January 27 release date, is just that — one epic, 55-minute opus that can only stem from the twisted minds of singer Mike Patton; the bassist in his former band Mr. Bungle, Trevor Dunn; Melvins guitarist Buzz Osbourne; and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. ... Vast's third album will be the first release on Carson Daly and former Loud Records co-owner Jonathan Rifkind's 456 Entertainment. The LP, titled Nude, is due February 24. …